4Kids Entertainment
|foundation = ; |founder = Stan Weston |location = , , U.S. |key people = Clement Ryland ( ) Bruce R. Foster ( ) |industry = |products = 4KidsTV: The Game Station Fox Box The CW4Kids Toonzai |revenue = US$ 5.14 million (2013) |net income = US$ 15 million (2013) |num employees = 23 (2017) |parent = (2013–2017) |divisions = 4Kids Productions 4Kids Music 4Kids Ad Sales 4Kids Digital Games 4Kids Home Video |subsidaries = 4Kids International }} 4Kids Entertainment '''(often referred to as '''4Kids) is an American company, and the former of the now-extinct . It is also a and that English- Japanese through its main division 4Kids Productions since 2013; it specializes in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States. The first anime that 4Kids Productions dubbed is the reboot of that aired on 's nighttime block in the United States. The company is most well known for its range of television licenses, which has included the multibillion-dollar Viva Piñata: Party Animals franchise. It also runs four : 4KidsTV: The Game Station (its flagship channel), Fox Box, The CW4Kids, and Toonzai, which are aimed for children and air . 4KidsTV: The Game Station relaunched on July 3, 2017 after a 2-day shutdown; Toonzai relaunched on August 17, 2017 after a 3-day shutdown. 4Kids Entertainment has its world headquarters on in , one of its divisions, 4Kids Productions, has its headquarters in a separate building in Manhattan. The trading in 4Kids' common stock (OTCBB: KIDE) was extended on January 3, 2016, and 4Kids expanded a second time on August 16, 2016. On July 6, 2016, 4Kids then made a deal with to release each of its licensed shows in and sets on November 7, 2016. 4Kids also redubbed the movie Kikoriki. Legend of Golden Dragon under the name GoGoRiki: The Legend of the Golden Dragon in the United States in September 2018, with the help of Central Park Media. 4Kids' material is usually dubbed at , but also at and other recording studios. History Company origins 4Kids Entertainment was founded on May 16, 2013, one year later after 4Licensing Corporation reincorporated from its former name. Later that day, 4Kids became 4Licensing Corporation's subsidiary after its acquisition. 4Kids Productions was refounded at the same time, and dubbed the reboot of Dragon Ball Z Kai, as its first anime. 4Kids eventually became the spin-off company of 4Licensing Corporation the following day. 2013–2014: The beginning In the beginning, 4Kids pitched toy and cartoon ideas to various companies, as well as formed partnerships with companies such as , among others. On September 29, 2013, 4Kids announced that since and filed a joint lawsuit against it and accused it of underpayments concerning the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and allegedly conspiring with Funimation after acquiring the rights to dub the anime series, it would no longer license the franchise and gave up on it (due to the license being terminated), and later focus on a new franchise, called Viva Piñata: Party Animals. 4Kids began making news in August 2013 through licensing actual people, a variety of products, and even concepts. The company also had a growing number of deals with television producers. Among the company's licenses at the time were , who was known for voicing the titular protagonist Sonic the Hedgehog in the series of video games, including the anime , , who voiced Yugi Muto in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime series, , who voiced Ash Ketchum in the first eight seasons of the anime, a wide array of products, and many others. 4Kids is credited in its assistance in the initial development of the "Yu-Gi-Oh!: City Dimensions" concept and acted on behalf of as an exclusive worldwide licensing agent for products based on "Yu-Gi-Oh!: City Dimensions", an agreement that was between the two parties on October 5, 2013. During mid-November 2013, a 24-year old CGI artist came up with the idea of a 3D cyber-themed art style. He shared his vision with the creator of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, Kazuki Takahashi, who in turn, pitched it to . The representative director of Gallop, Akio Wakana, was impressed with the idea and the potential that it had of becoming an instant success. He approved of it and "Yu-Gi-Oh!: City Dimensions" went into development. During the early development stage, Naohito Miyoshi designed much of Yu-Gi-Oh!: City Dimensions' characters, vehicles and locations. He was also responsible for creating the series' logo. The designs were then sent to to be adapted into cartoon format. During the work on "Yu-Gi-Oh!: City Dimensions", Yūji Naka, creator of the Sonic series, designed four out the five main characters of the 2014 TV series Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, which debuted on July 14, 2014 on in , and , , , , and in North America. In March 2014, the former chairman and CEO, , who was credited for bringing the to the , began his attempts to hire a new chairman and CEO for 4Kids. On May 17, 2014, 4Kids signed a licensing deal with to market the software products that went along with its increasingly popular gaming systems. Sony had already introduced for the , a home video gaming system that went on to sell more than one million copies during the year. Some time in 2014 the company also signed a licensing deal to market the series of video games. 2014–2015: Expansion, plans for re-dubs, launch of first two channels, and first advertisement The 2010s were seen as turning point for 4Kids. In May 2014, 4Kids expanded its operations and planned English re-dubs of Japanese . This would include English- foreign shows through 4Kids Productions, which the company is most known for. In June 15, 2014, Alfred Kahn resumed his attempts to hire a new Chairman and CEO for 4Kids. When Kahn was unsuccessful 4Kids fans have voted for the next Chairman and CEO to take his place. Kahn later traded out of his stake in 4Kids and bought a 56% stake in CraneKahn LLC the week after. On August 8, 2014, 4Kids appointed Clement Ryland as its new Chairman, and rehired Bruce R. Foster as its CEO. On September 17, 2014, 4Kids resumed centering around its dubs for kids, and the staff considered airing uncut version of its licenses, due to receiving heavy criticism, so that anime fans won't have to complain about the censorship of the re-dubs of Japanese and foreign anime. On October 8, 2014, 4Kids announced that the now-extinct Summit Media Group would be re-established as a separate entity instead of just being a subsidiary alongside 4Kids Productions, 4Kids Music, 4Kids Digital Games, and 4Kids Home Video. On November 7, 2014, announced a joint venture with 4Kids to relaunch the block as a standalone channel, and aired a trailer to celebrate plans for its revival. 4KidsTV: The Game Station was the channel that resulted from the joint venture and launched on November 15, 2014 at 2:18 a.m. . There was also an announcement that the Toonzai block and its former name The CW4Kids would be relaunched as separate channels as well. In December 2014, it was announced that the 4KidsTV block's former name Fox Box would also be relaunched as a separate 24-hour channel. The Fox Box network launched on December 17, 2014 at 3:26 a.m. . The first advertisement by 4Kids Ad Sales was a promo of an upcoming crossover movie on December 27, 2014. 4Kids and 4Licensing Corporation still remained together although they were considered similar to each other. 4Kids fans started a dispute with GoAnimate Community over their love for 4Kids, which was settled on New Year's Day. 2015–2016: The new biennium The new biennuium found 4Kids, who gave up plans to rejoin the by the start of New Year's Day. Despite this, 4Kids rejoined the under its ticker symbol KIDE, was riding high during the containing success of the Viva Piñata: Party Animals franchise when it earned Fortune's top slot on the Top 10 Fastest Growing Companies the day after. Since the Toonzai network was launched on January 3, 2015 at 5:28 a.m. EST, 4Kids' redub of Tai Chi Chasers was eventually broadcast at 6:19 a.m. EST after Toonzai's first commercial break. The re-dub starred Sam Riegel, Kelsey Hawkes, Marc Thompson, Christopher Corey Smith, and Wayne Grayson as Rai, Sena, Finn, Donha, and Tori, respectively (despite Thompson returning to voice Finn). Toonzai's comical host is Shōji, who accompanies the Toonzai Ninja. On March 8, 2015, 4Kids and signed a licensing agreement to create board games based on 4Kids' licenses featuring its characters. The license included a new line of toys based on the Viva Piñata: Party Animals franchise. The updated toyline has been available nationally at mass-market retailers beginning in the summer of that year. During the summer of 2015, The CW4Kids launched on July 19, 2015 at 7:00 a.m. EST, with the first program being a rerun of at 11:15 a.m. EST. The CW4Kids resulted from a joint venture between and 4Kids. On August 7, 2015, 4Kids obtained the merchandising and television rights to the series based on the movie Tai Chi Chasers: The Tigeroid Rebellion from JM Animation, producing an English-language version which would premiered in North America on Toonzai in the near future. On November 17, 2016, 4Kids acquired a 3% stake in , in a move to benefit directly from the Viva Piñata: Party Animals franchise's success, and its merchandise. In late January 2016, 4Kids attempted to sign another licensing deal, this time with in order for its music publishing arm 4Kids Music to produce a new song performed by the main cast of the redub of Tai Chi Chasers, but the deal fell through following the shutdown of 20th Century Fox Records. The song's name was revealed to be "I'll Go Easy on You", which was scheduled to debut in 2019. On January 3, 2016, 4Kids stated that the song would also be performed at a concert in the future. It was also responsible for the content of its channels and collected all advertising revenues from them. 2016–2017: Further expansion and financial advantages On February 17, 2016, sold its 3% stake in 4Kids for $840,000, to owning the additional rights to 4Kids' licenses. The week after, 4Kids announced that it would renew the GoGoRiki representation agreement with Fun Game Media set to expire on May 15, 2016, and that beginning on March 4, 2016, 4Kids' in-house licensing group will handle all licenses nationwide (with the exception of , , the series, , , , Pokémon, , and ). However, Fun Game Media will continue to receive commissions for the next several years, on payments made under existing GoGoRiki license agreements whose term expires after May 15, 2016. On March 14, 2016, 4Kids and signed a deal to license children's video games exclusively for the gaming system, in an effort to put more child-oriented games on the system, whose gaming library is currently dominated by games targeted toward the 12-and-up market. One of the first titles announced was 4Kids All-Stars: Top Superstar! which would be co-developed by and published by 4Kids Digital Games. On May 17, 2016, 4Kids planned to launch an online shop called "4KidsTV Shop", which had products based on 4KidsTV: The Game Station, Fox Box, Toonzai, and The CW4Kids. "We have built an impressive roster of captivating and successful children's entertainment properties," said Clement Ryland. "Given the increased number of products that we are representing that focus on children, we felt it would be beneficial to organize a online shop primarily related to the four networks. We believe that we can successfully utilize our marketing and licensing expertise to build brand value for properties targeting children that are not necessarily media or character driven." On June 6, 2016, 4Kids announced the re-foundation of the now-extinct LLC, which ceased operating due to continued lack of profitability. "The reformation of , LLC represents a significant enhancement of our business strategy," said Clement H. Ryland, Chairman of 4Kids. TC Digital Games, LLC was reestablished as a separate entity that month. Later the same month, The CW4Kids launched a full-length version of its theme tune "Jump Up If You're Ready", sung by its hosts Poppy Catterall, Cameron Randall, and Sophie Wang. The theme's original key signature was C♯/D♭ major, although B major was more usually heard. On July 6, 2016, 4Kids signed a licensing deal with to release each of its licenses in and sets on November 7, 2016. On July 13, 2016, 4Kids announced that it would not exit its contracts with Fox and The CW due to the four channels' strong positive reviews from viewers and critics, and successful views, resulting in a crossover movie being in the works. On August 16, 2016, 4Kids announced that it is recruiting about 26% of workforce despite the , and financial situation at the company. 4Kids was aware of its owner filing for on September 21, 2016, and its fans were afraid of what would happen if the bankruptcy plan became effective in the future. On November 17, 2016, 4Kids intended to produce a sequel to the series, and announced that Bardel Entertainment would return to animate the sequel series. On January 6, 2017, it was announced that the plans for 's sequel were successful. 2017–2018: Events in the 6th era Later in January 2017, 4Kids announced that the OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB) trading in its common stock would not be held off despite the opening of trading on Wednesday, January 11, 2017. On January 16, 2017, 4Kids announced that the main characters of Tai Chi Chasers were revealed to be the official main stars of Toonzai. The Tai Chi Chasers license wasn't terminated by JM Animation, due to the redub receiving critical acclaim and the acquisition of the new authorities. Later that day, 4Kids announced that Clement Ryland, the Chairman since August 2014, had decided not to leave the company. Ainslie Hawkins, a member of the company's former Board of Directors from 2014 to 2015, was appointed as a replacement CEO for Bruce Foster. On January 25, 2017, settled a lawsuit with 4Kids, stating that the company entered into legal agreements with companies, such as , , , , and , regarding several franchises. TV Aichi claimed that those agreements allowed 4Kids to collect royalties and pay a sum of those royalties to TV Aichi, which complies with their original agreement. TV Aichi are seeking $9 million in "employee benefits, lawful deductions, and achieved duties". As part of the suit, TV Aichi extended the GoGoRiki license for 4Kids after the settlement, despite the rights being handled by The Riki Group. 4Kids informed the licensors at the start of February, that their extension letter was "genuine and free of any false and illegal basis", and that they had given it 14 days as required. 4Kids further revealed that they had made a good-faith payment of and agreed to a meeting on November 5, 2016 in lieu of a lawsuit, which TV Aichi nevertheless decided to go ahead with. It also stated since the extension of the GoGoRiki license is valid, it is prepared to do whatever it takes to stay in business. paid a 15% stake in 4Kids as of January 30, 2017. 4Kids requested that the court prolong co-licensor 's attempts to exercise control of the old license (which is currently owned by in the United States, particularly in terms of selling the rights to the latest anime series, Pokémon: Sun & Moon, which was due to be pitched at the Licensing Expo on March 8. However, federal judge issued a on TV Aichi for an automatic stay on the U.S. Pokémon ''license and said that the trial will proceed in two phases. The first phase is whether the proper continuation will be valid, and the second phase is how much money 4Kids would be reimbursed from and (NAS). The first phase of the trial began later that day. 4Kids announced that it would still center upon , despite 4Licensing Corporation's continued lack of profitability. However, that day, the court judged solvency on 4Kids and allowed it to renew the expired license. The modern-day KidsCo also absorbed KidsCo Media Ventures, LLC in order for 4Kids to remain in business. 4Kids acquired additional assets from that company. On February 3, 2017, 4Kids and reached a deal, after Entertainment One had properly invested most of 4Kids funds in . 4Kids received $500,000 from the deal. The judge of the court later ruled that 4Kids' licenses are still in effect despite terminating the ''Yu-Gi-Oh! license improperly. Later, there was an amicable settlement of the lawsuit between 4Kids and over the license of the Yu-Gi-Oh! property. On February 4, 2017, 4Kids placed a bid to acquire most of Qualis Holdings' assets due to a false statement that 4Kids closed in 2019. Later, 4Kids commenced an auction between the present-day Kidsco and 4K Acquisition which was then adjourned so 4Kids, Kidsco, and 4K Acquisition could consider an alternative transaction. The next day, 4Kids filed a notice outlining a proposed deal in which its assets would be divided between Kidsco and 4K Acquisition which was finalised the same day. The deal saw 4K Acquisition acquire the additional US rights to the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and KidsCo acquire Qualis Holdings' other assets, terminating the rights to close the modern Cookie Jar Group and 4Kids, for $2 million. The next day, it was announced through a quarterly report that 4Kids had continued operations of its five divisions: 4Kids Ad Sales, 4Kids Productions, 4Kids Music, 4Kids Digital Games, and 4Kids Home Video, due to their enduring adequacy of advantage. Later that day, it was revealed through a quarterly report that on December 4, 2017, the Board of Directors of 4Kids Entertainment determined to continue the operations of its UK subsidiary, 4Kids International. "4Kids had learned a thing or two, but it's far from gone, and still stays strong to this day," said , former Chairman and CEO of 4Kids. 4Kids had cancelled an unknown dispute with , and planned to give some of its assets to 4Licensing Corporation. But, before the staff can do anything, 4Licensing Corporation's bankruptcy plan was effective on February 7, 2017, which led to the separation of the two companies. But, in order to avoid any more disputes, , a subsidiary of , announced that described 4Kids to be "a decent dubbing company that credited its glory by making good (dubs and re-dubs) of Japanese anime". The same day, a meeting was scheduled on to confirm 4Kids' plan to avoid bankruptcy. On March 6, 2017, 4Kids filed a final lawsuit against Qualis Holdings, and received $267,000 that day after the lawsuit was settled. The ongoing success of the Viva Piñata: Party Animals franchise resulted in 4Kids' plans' for future seasons of the TV series being met with critical acclaim. People then gave 4Kids constructive criticism for the bad things it did, due to the announcement that 4Kids would air uncut versions of their licenses from 2015 onwards. On April 29, 2017, 4Kids announced a deal with in which 4Kids would plan a reboot for . The deal, reportedly valued at $180 million, also included a ten-year contract for Clement Ryland's personal "creative services." Also, during the negotiations, management of 4Kids Productions, leading to the present-day Central Park Media's expansion. On May 1, 2017, while 4Kids and Sentai Filmworks were still negotiating, the founder of 4Kids, died suddenly at the age of 84. Under the changed circumstances, the two sides could not come to an accord. Negotiations officially ended the same month, and 4Kids and Sentai Filmworks would operate independently. As a result, 4KidsTV: The Game Station, The CW4Kids, Toonzai, and Fox Box each aired their own segment in memory of Weston. 4KidsTV: The Game Station relaunched on July 3, 2017 after shutting down on July 1, 2017. On July 4, 2017, 4Kids re-did its cover of "The Star-Spangled Banner", sung by its TV show characters and hosts. The channel also received another graphic redesign and the website was updated again to coincide with the 2017 Fireworks Frenzy event. Toonzai relaunched on August 17, 2017 after it shut down on August 14, 2017. Following the relaunch, Toonzai aired a promo of the redub of Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, which was scheduled to be premiere in early October 2017, which resulted from 4Kids obtaining the brand new rights from Gallop. The new rights allowed 4Kids to team up with Studiopolis in order to maintain these rights so that it can renew the now-discontinued Yu-Gi-Oh! license. On September 8, 2017, 4Kids announced a re-dub of Shaman King, and would also air an unedited version of the anime due to intense criticism by signing a deal with . The re-dub resulted from 4Kids obtaining the new rights for the Shaman King license. This deal has been in effect since the same day. On October 7, 2017, 4Kids announced that it actually signed a deal with and to re-dub in late 2015 and acquired the rights for an English dub of its sequel Ojamajo Doremi: Next Step, titled Magical DoReMi: 2nd Stage ''' in 2016, which takes place after the events of the series' fourth and final season '''Ojamajo Doremi Dokka~n!. It also announced that it would team up with the animation studio to revive the anime series in 2018. The re-dub of Magical Doremi and its sequel starred Ashley Stone as Dorie Goodwyn, Sarah Dawkins as Reanne Griffith, and Lindsay Taylor as Mirabelle Haywood. The two shows also starred two new voice actors Tiffany Crawford as Ellie Craft and Miranda Ellis as Mindy Santo, while it was announced that most of the supporting and recurring characters would be absent in the sequel. On December 18, 2017, 4Kids planned an English dub for Takunomi for the start of 2018. On January 7, 2018, 4Kids announced that it is recruiting new staff members starting February 2018, and expanded its operations a third time, therefore starting the production of the English dub of the Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power movie. On March 7, 2018, 4Kids announced that the Takunomi dub was called, "Drinking at My House", and would premiere in October 2018. 2018–2019: New licensing deals, cancellation of Takunomi dub, and relocation During May 2018, 4Kids signed a deal with to license its original video games for the , just like they did with the . Category:4Kids Entertainment Category:Companies Category:Television production companies of the United States Category:Film production companies of the United States Category:Film production companies Category:Spin-off